Accountant - Chief Operating Officer Finance team

Nationwide; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services provider in Swindon seeks an experienced Accountant for the Chief Operating Officer Finance team. The role emphasizes business partnering, financial analysis, and stakeholder management. Candidates should possess a relevant accounting qualification, excellent communication skills, and a strong grasp of financial data. The company promotes hybrid working and offers a range of employee benefits including a personal pension and performance bonuses.

Benefits

Personal pension with a significant employer contribution

Paid volunteering days

Life assurance

Salary sacrifice benefits

Health and wellness options

Performance related bonus

Career development training

25 days holiday

Qualifications

• Significant experience in core management accounting processes.
• Experience working with financial data in high-pressure environments.
• Strong understanding of third-party management processes.

Responsibilities

• Interpret financial data to create MI and insights for stakeholders.
• Support Strategic Investment activities to drive efficiency.
• Manage stakeholder relationships and prioritize competing deliverables.

Skills

Planning and organizational skills

Communication skills

Influencing skills

Excel proficiency

Education

Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)

Job description

Accountant - Chief Operating Officer Finance team

This is a business partnering role within our Finance Function. You will be partnering one of the areas that make up our COO business unit giving you valuable insight to the Society's technology base and the way in which the Society manages its investment portfolio.

The Chief Operating Officer Finance team (COO Finance) is at the core of the activities that deliver against the Society's Strategy. Our role is to manage and maintain Nationwide's financial strength, by ensuring we are spending our members money wisely and helping build great customer propositions to maximise income potential. This role creates a great opportunity for someone to be part of a team who provide key stakeholders with financial guidance & advice and create great pieces of analysis to support & challenge through decision making.

At Nationwide we offer hybrid working wherever possible. More rewarding relationships are supported through our hybrid approach, bringing colleagues together across our UK wide estate, whilst also supporting generous access to home working. We value our time in the office to solve problems, to learn, and to feel connected.

For this job you'll spend at least two days per week, or if part time you'll spend 40% of your working time, based at our Swindon office. If your application is successful, your hiring manager will provide further details on how this works. You can also find out more about our approach to hybrid working here .

If we receive a high volume of relevant applications, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so please apply as soon as you can.
What you'll be doing

As an Accountant you will have previous experience in core management accounting processes. You will have significant experience working with financial data and you'll thrive in a high-pressured environment driven by strict deadlines and competing demands.

The role is a business partnering role and would suit someone with previous experience with stakeholder management in a commercially focused role. The role offers an opportunity to interpret financial data to create MI and insight to be shared with the stakeholders we support. At the same time, it offers an opportunity to grow stakeholder management, commercial and influencing skills engaging with colleagues in other parts of the Society about the costs managed in their areas.

The main focus of this role will be to support the Strategic Investment activity in one of the COO Sub-Portfolios in making best use of its resource, driving efficiency and supporting key management decisions across the Strategic Investment (SI) Portfolio and will be pivotal in linking the current delivery outcomes whilst striving for value for money.
About you

As a minimum requirement you'll:

• Have excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities and deliverables.
• Have excellent communication skills; you'll be confident in and have a proven background in report writing, formal presentations and large-scale function communications engaging with senior leadership.
• A good understanding of third-party management processes from sourcing through to ongoing supplier management.
• Strong influencing skills to manage challenges and maintain relationships at a senior level.
• Be a qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA).
• Significant experience working in a financial environment.
• Have excellent Excel skills with experience of consolidating large amounts of data into management information.
• Be experienced in the presentation of financial information for use by senior stakeholders and able to take a big picture view.

Our customer first behaviours put customers and members at the heart of how we work together. They are the set of behaviours that every colleague needs to display, in every role:

• Feel what customers feel - We step into our customers' shoes, using their feedback and insights to empathise with them and to understand their needs, so that every decision we make starts and finishes with our customers in mind

• Say it straight - We are brave in speaking out and saying what we think - we're honest and direct with good intent, openly sharing diverse perspectives to reach the best conclusions and using language everyone can understand
• Push for better - We don't settle for mediocrity, we challenge the status quo, taking responsibility for continuous improvement and personal development
• Get it done - We prioritise what will have the greatest impact, we are decisive, and we take accountability for delivering brilliant customer outcomes

You can strengthen your application by showing how our customer first behaviours resonate with you, and where you may have already demonstrated these.
The extras you'll get

There are all sorts of employee benefits available at Nationwide, including:

• A personal pension - if you put in 7% of your salary, we'll top up by a further 16%
• Up to 2 days of paid volunteering a year
• Life assurance worth 8x your salary
• A great selection of additional benefits through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Wellhub - Access to a range of free and paid options for health and wellness
• Access to an annual performance related bonus
• Access to training to help you develop and progress your career
• 25 days holiday, pro rata

Banking - but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society

We forge our own path at Nationwide.

As a mutual, we're owned by our members - those customers who bank, save or have a mortgage with us. We challenge the financial sector status quo. We don't see customers as the engine of our own profit. We share our profits with them and put their needs first. Always there when they need us. Supporting them and their lives.

If you're inspired by fairer finances, passionate about making a meaningful impact, and truly care about our customers, you're one of us.

At Nationwide, you are challenged to grow and rewarded for doing so. Valued. Recognised. Inspired to be your best. As a community we want our working lives to count. As a team, we celebrate what we achieve. As a standard-setter, we work for the good of customers, communities, and broader society.

We are Purpose-driven. Uncompromisingly Customer. Unstoppably Nationwide.
What to do next

If this role is for you, please click the 'Apply Now' button. You'll need to attach your up-to-date CV and answer a few quick questions for us.

We respond to everyone, so we will be in contact shortly after the closing date to let you know the outcome of your application.

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